On January 5, 2010, the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) issued a statement on the situation in Venezuela and the re-election of interim President and President of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó. The statement "welcomed" the re-election of Guaidó, which took place on the 5th and emphasized the Secretariat's continued recognition of Guaidó and his cabinet "as the legitimate authority of the country." The Secretariat reiterated its "condemnation of the fraudulent attempt to strip Juan Guaidó . . . of his powers" and "demand[ed] that the dictatorial regime...
International Law in Brief
International Law in Brief (ILIB) is a forum that provides updates on current developments in international law from the editors of ASIL's International Legal Materials.
On December 18, 2019, the UNCLOS Article VII Tribunal ordered São Tomé to pay compensation to Malta in the (approximate) amount of 13,051,507.61 USD (not counting post-award interest) in the Duzgit Integrity Arbitration (Malta v. São Tomé and Príncipe). According to an UNCLOS press release, the case involved a dispute between the above parties concerning the 2013 arrest by São Tomé of a vessel flagged under Maltese colors while the Maltese ship was in São Tomé’s waters attempting to make a cargo transfer with another ship (and resulting measures taken by São Tomé). In a previous...
On December 27, 2019, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its judgment in the case Abou-Haidar v. Sanin Vasquez on the interpretation of the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. This was the first case on the Convention to reach the D.C. Circuit. Articles 3 and 12 of the Convention provide that “retention of a child is to be considered wrongful [where] . . . it is in breach of rights of custody attributed to a person . . . under the law of the State in which the child was habitually resident immediately before” the retention. The appellant contested the...
On December 19, 2019, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) released its Considerations on Appeals Against Closing Orders in Case 004/02 against AO An. A press release from the ECCC and a statement by the International Co-Prosecutor explain that the ECCC was faced with conflicting closing-investigating judges' orders for the first time. Following an investigation into allegations against AO An, the international co-investigating judges concluded that the case should proceed to trial and issued an order accordingly. However, the national co-...
On December 20, 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) ordered the Dutch Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by twenty-five percent by the end of 2020 in its judgment in Netherlands v. Urgenda [currently in Dutch only]. According to the New York Times, the Dutch Supreme Court stated that the government "must act 'on account of the risk of dangerous climate change that could also have a serious impact on the rights to life and well-being of residents of the Netherlands'" (see also paras 5.2.1-5.5.3 of the judgment, which heavily cited Article 2 and...
On December 19, 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its judgment in Case C-532/18 Niki Luftfahrt concerning the meaning of "accident" under the 1999 Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air. The EU signed the Convention on December 9, 1999, and it entered into force there on June 28, 2004. According to a press release issued by the Court, the case, which was referred to the CJEU by the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof), involved a woman who was scalded from hot coffee which spilled on...
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held in a judgment (currently available only in French and Spanish) issued on December 19, 2019, that Members of the European Parliament (MEP) acquire that status from the moment the election results are declared and therefore enjoy, from that moment, the privileges and immunities attached to that status. According to a press release (in English) released by the Court, Case C-502/19 Junqueras Vie, concerned the provisional detention of Mr. Junqueras Vies, who was involved in the organization of a referendum on self-determination in...
On December 11, 2019, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a Recommendation aimed at making the guardianship of unaccompanied migrant children more effective. A press release issued by the Council of Europe states that the "Recommendation seeks to ensure that unaccompanied and separated children's rights and their best interests are respected in line with international and European standards." The Resolution itself consists of a brief preamble and five main recommendations. Detailed "guiding principles and implementing guidelines" are contained in an Appendix. These...
On December 11, 2019, the United States and the European Union gathered in Washington for their twice-annual meeting to discuss priorities in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. A joint statement following the meeting explains that the aim of the Ministerial Meeting is "to oversee transatlantic cooperation in the area of Justice and Home affairs and address common security threats." Chief among priorities for the two Transatlantic Partners is "fighting terrorism in all its forms," and an emphasis on sharing information derived from combat zones to assist in criminal prosecutions. The...
The European Union and the Council of Europe have each adopted instruments seeking to address the protection of whistleblowers. EU Directive 2019/1937 of October 23, 2019, on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law represents the first effort of the EU to adopt a Union-wide legislative instrument on the subject matter. A press release from April 2018 at the start of the legislative process states that the new law “will establish safe channels for reporting both within an organisation and to public authorities” and “will also protect whistleblowers against dismissal,...